Snapchat is reportedly looking to start testing non-skippable ads next month, at least according to Digiday. This is another change that won’t likely lead to more users using the service – which is what Snapchat wants and needs. After the big change to the interface that debuted a few months ago, users rebelled against it with many deciding to uninstall the app, and it sent Snapchat’s stock plummeting. Now non-skippable ads will not be something users will be a fan of. But it will make advertisers happy, and Snapchat does need to keep its advertisers happy, so it can stay in business.
The piece of good news about these non-skippable ads however, is that they will not appear in discover or user-generated content. But rather in its TV-like content. The ads are said to be around six seconds long, so they aren’t going to be super long, but it will drive some users crazy, that don’t want to see ads. Snapchat knows that users won’t like this, but the company hopes that users will just get used to it. Hoping that users will deal with these non-skippable ads in favor of getting free content on the service. Snapchat also mentioned that the majority of the Snapchat generation are already accustomed to watching ads on other platforms like YouTube, and Facebook. So it really shouldn’t be a big issue, at least in Snapchat’s eyes, but users never like change – as was evident with the redesign last month.
While Snapchat is beginning to test these new non-skippable ads next month on its service, that doesn’t mean that they will be rolling out next month. It may actually be a little while before these non-skippable ads rollout, and there could also be some changes before they are rolled out – perhaps slightly shorter ads, or allowing them to be skipped after three or four seconds. Snapchat has confirmed that it is testing these non-skippable ads, though it has not said much about these ads. Just confirming that it is planning to test them, and nothing more. So look forward to more information on this in the near future.